NORFOLK — East Carolina overcame some second quarter struggles with a dominant second half as the Pirates topped host Old Dominion, 20-17, on Saturday night for their first win of the season.
The Monarchs (1-2) scored all 17 of their points within a span of just over five minutes in the second quarter and had ECU (1-2) in a 17-7 hole.
ECU quarterback Mitch Griffis had been there, done that. He helped Wake Forest rally from a 17-0 deficit at the half at ODU for a 27-24 win in 2023.
The Pirates trailed 17-10 at the half but tied the score at 17 with 12:36 left in the third quarter on a 67-yard interception return for a score by Ayden Duncanson.
“I was just controlling my zone,” Duncanson said on the Pirate radio network. “I felt somebody to my left. I was reading the quarterback’s eyes and jumped the route.”
Noah Perez provided the winning points with a 24-yard field goal with 9:39 left in the nonconference contest.
The Pirates finished with a 276-274 lead in total yards.
T.J. Engleman had 16 carries for 99 yards as ECU had 173 yards on the ground.
“It’s a win and that’s what matters,” said Pirates coach Blake Harrell. “I don’t care if it’s an ugly win. You’ve got to win ugly before you can win pretty. We showed a lot of resilience.
“Defensively, I thought we were outstanding.”
ECU got the initial lead after an ODU flub. The Pirates took advantage of the miscue on a punt snap that provided a short field at the Monarchs’ 28-yard line. ECU scored on second down with Emory Williams at quarterback.
Williams threw a backwards pass to Jason Dickerson, who hit Ja’Keith Hamilton in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown with 6:03 left in the first quarter. Perez kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Williams came in for Griffis on the Pirates’ third possession. ECU moved 33 yards in eight plays before turning the ball over on downs at the ODU 33 on its fourth series.
Then the Monarchs surged in the second quarter.
An interception was nullified by a roughing the passer penalty on the Pirates and gave the hosts a first down at their 34. The Monarchs picked up 42 yards on a pass from Quinn Henicle to Zialis Blackmon to the ECU 24. That led to a 38-yard field goal by Nathaniel Eichner that cut the lead to 7-3 with 9:17 left in the half.
ODU went up, 10-7, on a 23-yard fumble return for a score by Daevon Liles with 8:12 remaining in the half. Kanen Hamlett was stripped of the ball by Justin Watts after a catch. A video review upheld the TD ruling on the field although it appeared Hamlett’s right elbow was down before the ball came out.
The Monarchs extended their advantage to 17-7 after a 38-yard punt return by Devin Roche to the ECU 35. Henicle scored five plays later on an 18-yard run with 4:14 to go in the half.
Perez hit a 36-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half to bring the Pirates within 17-10 at the break. Griffis played the last two series of the first half, directing a move that covered 56 yards in seven plays before the boot by Perez.
“That feels good,” said Griffis in the aftermath. “Defense, O-line and running backs carried us today. We’ve got a lot to fix, but a win is a win. It’s hard to win on the road.”
The Pirates will be back home to take on N.C. Central (2-2) on Saturday at 4 p.m. (ESPN+).
Griffis completed just four of 12 for 58 yards. Williams was five for seven for 22 yards.
Roche ran 18 times for 102 yards for the Monarchs.
Not pretty, as Harrell indicated, although things looked a lot better with Griffis taking a knee to run out the clock.
“We’d have loved for it to be a lot cleaner,” Griffis said. “But winning cures a lot of things.”
For the Pirates, a much-needed win. Pulling off the comeback while still having trouble sustaining drives is hard to do. Thankfully, the defense provided a score, and kept ODU out of the end zone during the second half.
This addition of the Pirates can be hard to watch. At times, they can’t get out of their own way. I’m not sure enough can be fixed for the Pirates to have a winning season. The Monarchs aren’t as good as App State, and App State isn’t that good – at least at this point in the season. The Pirates should begin conference play at 2-2 in a couple of weeks. All three phases need improvement, and I don’t believe N.C. Central will provide the benchmark required. Hopefully, enough of the players who are still trying to figure the game out can achieve a level of consistency that will allow the Pirates to compete in the American.
There were times yesterday when it looked like both teams had money on the other, but after all’s said and done, yes, a dub is a dub, especially with ECU being away and a slight dog, and to a team that won 10 games last year (while that admittedly means less today than it used to, in this unhinged portal era in which we find ourselves.)
Hats off to the Pirates defense, though in some ways, it felt like the ODU offense yesterday played the generous role that the ECU offense played last week for Ap.
Question marks remain for the ECU offense, thought the running backs room continues to show promise, with Engleman being the man yesterday; hopefully Gray’s non-contact injury doesn’t become a theme.
Next up is an FCS game, something I’ve always felt can yield only a neutral or bad result, but hopefully improvement will occur between now and the first conference game.